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It is important to know that there are
two main causes of drive failure: logical or mechanical. The former
occurs when there is something wrong with the information stored on
the drive, such as data that has become corrupted. This is the
easiest to solve of the two failure types and home users can
actually perform the recovery themselves by using commercially
available software. If the drive has failed mechanically then it
means it has been physically damaged, with the “click of death” (as
mentioned in a previous article) often being heard coming from
within the computer case. Recovery of a mechanically failed drive
should not be attempted at home and it is here where specialist data
recovery companies come in.
Hard drives are extremely sensitive. Your data is stored
magnetically on a circular disk and a head floats closely above it
in order to decode the data. Even a single speck of dust getting
inside your hard drive can unleash a whole load of trouble. This is
because the hard drive disks rotate from anywhere to 4,200 to 15,000
revolutions per minute. As such, all drives are built to be
extremely tight. A professional company will have what is known as a
class 100 room, which are specially constructed environments where
there are less than 100 airborne particles. Rooms like these are the
type that hard drives are actually manufactured in.
By working in these clean rooms, companies will aim to get the drive
functioning and then get all your data off it. It is then advisable
to put the data on a new drive and chuck the old one, since a lot of
the time the root of the problem can still exist and the drive will
be prone to breaking again. The companies recover your data by using
high tech tools in order to repair damaged heads or resolder chips
on to circuit boards. In some cases, the data recovery technician
will recover your data bit by bit, analyse it and repair the
corrupted sectors manually until your files are restored.
How long it takes to your recover your data will vary by company,
but it will usually take up to a week, with the cost increasing
depending on how urgently you need it fixed.
The work is by no means magical and sometimes it is just not
possible to recover the data, perhaps due to severe damage on the
platter. However, reputable companies are successful most of the
time and they are the best hope you have of getting your data back.
Be sure to hunt around for a business that is both reputable and
cost effective. |
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